People of Guam v Castro [2013] GUSC 20; 2013 Guam 20 (25 October 2013)

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Appeal from the Superior Court of Guam
Argued and submitted May 8, 2013
Hagåtña, Guam

Appearing for Defendant-Appellant:
Terence E. Timblin, Esq.
Yanza Flynn Timblin, LLP
446 E. Marine Corps Dr., Ste. 201
Hagåtña, GU 96910

Appearing for Plaintiff-Appellee:
Marianne Woloschuk, Esq.
Assistant Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
590 S. Marine Corps Dr., Ste. 706
Tamuning, GU 96913

BEFORE: F. PHILIP CARBULLIDO, Chief Justice; ROBERT J. TORRES, Associate Justice; KATHERINE A. MARAMAN, Associate Justice.

[1] Defendant-Appellant Alexander James Castro appeals a judgment convicting him of one count of Aggravated Assault (As a Third Degree Felony), one count of Assault (As a Misdemeanor), and one count of Reckless Conduct (As a Misdemeanor). On appeal, Castro argues: (1) the trial court improperly admitted evidence of Castro's participation in mixed martial arts activities; (2) there was insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction of Aggravated Assault (As a Third Degree Felony); and (3) the trial court improperly considered and referred to Castro as a mixed martial artist and role model before imposing the sentence. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm.

[2] A grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Defendant-Appellant Alexander James Castro with one count of Aggravated Assault (As a Second Degree Felony), three counts of Aggravated Assault (As a Third Degree Felony), two counts of Assault (As a Misdemeanor), and one count of Reckless Conduct (As a Misdemeanor) following a bar fight with Jarrett Dunham and others. Some of the charges alleged possession and use of a deadly weapon, namely: (1) a fire extinguisher and (2) Castro's hands, feet, or other parts of his body because he was proficient in hand-to-hand fighting techniques. RA, tab 32 at 2-3 (Superseding Indictment, May 19, 2010). Subsequently, Plaintiff-Appellee People of Guam ("the People") filed an amended superseding indictment that removed all allegations concerning the fire extinguisher and Castro's proficiency in hand-to-hand fighting techniques. The amended superseding indictment charged Castro with one count of Aggravated Assault (As a Second Degree Felony), one count of Aggravated Assault (As a Third Degree Felony), one count of Assault (As a Misdemeanor), and one count of Reckless Conduct (As a Misdemeanor).

[4] Dunham met some friends for dinner at Chili's. After dinner and throughout the evening, Dunham and his friends visited several bars in Tumon.

[5] At one of those bars, Porky's, Dunham met his co-workers Jonathan Berrios, Tom Mundy, and Russell Morrow. Dunham and his co-workers left Porky's and headed to Coco's, a nearby bar. At around 4:00 a.m., Berrios, Mundy, and Morrow left Coco's and went to Club Hana; Dunham arrived a bit later.

[6] Right after entering Club Hana, Berrios, Mundy, and Morrow were stopped by Castro and Elbert Cruz, whom they had never met before. Castro and Cruz told Berrios that Mundy was staring at them as if Mundy had a problem with them. To defuse the situation, either Berrios or Mundy bought Castro, Cruz, and Kyle Reyes each a beer and a shot. Berrios then ordered himself a beer and sat down at a round, corner booth.

[7] Soon after, Dunham walked into Club Hana and joined Berrios at the booth. Castro, Cruz, and Reyes were behind the booth. Not long after Dunham sat down, Dunham informed Berrios that he overheard either Castro or one of Castro's friends say, "Let's eff 'em up before we leave." Transcripts ("Tr.") at 115-16 (Jury Trial, June 13, 2012). Moments later, Castro approached Berrios and asked for a light. Berrios responded by saying, "Hey, we overheard you, what you said, and I'm not stupid, man, you know. We don't -- we don't want no problems. We don't wanna fight." Id. at 116-17. Berrios's response appeared to anger Castro, who stared at Berrios and Dunham for about ten seconds and continued to ask for a light. Castro then looked to another guy in another booth and said, "I'm about to hit these guys and leave." Tr. at 59 (Cont'd Jury Trial, June 12, 2012).

[8] Dunham and Berrios then backed up into their booth. As they did so, they overheard someone in the background yell, "[Castro], save it for the fight." Id. at 61. A lady who worked at the bar then stood between Dunham and Castro and yelled, "Get back. Get back." Id.

[9] Dunham pulled out his cellphone to call a friend, who did not answer. Someone who had been talking to Castro said, "You better be calling the cops 'cause we're about to kill you.'" Id. at 63. That person then swung at Dunham and missed. Castro soon after entered the booth and hit Berrios with his right hand, causing Berrios to fall. With his left hand, Castro then struck Dunham's right eye. Dunham described Castro's punch as the hardest he had ever been hit and the worst pain he had ever experienced in his life. Dunham explained that he thought his "eye was falling out" as if it "was like literally on [his] face." Id. at 64. After Castro hit him, Dunham jumped out of the booth, while covering his eye, into "a crowd of men" who were hitting and swinging at him. Id. at 64-65. Soon after, Dunham lost consciousness, and the last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was that people were hitting him in the back of his head.

[10] In the meantime, Berrios, who had been earlier knocked down by Castro's punch, eventually got up and started to fight Castro, the person closest to him. At some point during the fight, Berrios claimed that Castro came at him with a knife. Berrios grew "fuzzy" from "all the head-bashing[,]" and was knocked down once more. Tr. at 124 (Jury Trial, June 13, 2012). He then decided to "ball up" by curling his body inward into a fetal position with his hand over his head to protect himself. Id. at 127.

[11] The fight was chaotic, and it lasted about three to five minutes. Around that point, the club owner yelled, "Everybody get out!" Id. at 103. After people started running out, Berrios noticed Dunham, who was slouched over and slipping in and out of consciousness. Berrios also noticed a fire extinguisher beside Dunham, and surmised that someone had hit Dunham with it. Berrios then saw Morrow, who came running in from outside the bar saying, "They got me." Id. at 128.

[12] Guam Police Department Officer Leonard Aguon, who responded to the scene, noticed Morrow and Dunham lying on the ground. Officer Aguon met with Mundy and Berrios.

[13] The paramedics later arrived and treated Dunham as he recovered consciousness. When Dunham woke up, he recalled that the right side of his face felt like it was "melting off." Tr. at 67-68 (Cont'd Jury Trial, June 12, 2012). Dunham was transported to the hospital and received thirteen stitches, located under his eye and on his nose. He was released from the hospital later that day.

[14] The following morning, the police took photographs of Dunham's injuries. For about a week, Dunham was unable to close his eye because it was swollen. The white part of Dunham's eye was yellow, causing him to be "like pretty much blind." Id. at 70. Dunham also had bruising on his back and neck. Dunham went to Hawaii to receive further medical treatment for about three weeks, and he was unable to work for three months. Dunham now has scars on his face and a dent in the bone above his eye.

[15] Dunham did not identify his assailant until he saw a television advertisement featuring Castro, which prompted him to later perform searches on Google and YouTube. He learned that Castro was a mixed martial artist who weighs 145 pounds, stands about 5'5", writes with his right hand, and holds a professional boxing license from the Boxing and Wrestling Commission. Castro also competed in mixed martial arts events sponsored by the Pacific Extreme Combat organization, which require fighters to wear gloves when fighting.

[16] Castro was later charged for the Club Hana incident. At trial, Castro neither testified in his defense nor presented any evidence. Castro moved for a judgment of acquittal at the close of the People's case, which the trial court denied. The jury returned a verdict acquitting Castro of one count of Aggravated Assault (As a Second Degree Felony), but finding Castro guilty of one count of Aggravated Assault (As a Third Degree Felony), one count of Assault (As a Misdemeanor), and one count of Reckless Conduct (As a Misdemeanor).

[17] Following Castro's conviction, a presentence investigation report was filed, containing letters written in support of Castro. Castro also submitted two other letters written on his behalf for the court's consideration upon sentencing.

[18] The trial court sentenced Castro to five years of imprisonment, with two years suspended, for the Aggravated Assault (As a Third Degree Felony) charge. As to the charge of Assault (As a Misdemeanor), Castro was sentenced to one-day imprisonment to run concurrently with the Aggravated Assault sentence. The trial court also sentenced Castro to one-year imprisonment for the charge of Reckless Conduct (As a Misdemeanor) to run concurrently with the Aggravated Assault and Assault sentences. Judgment was entered, and Castro timely filed this appeal.

[19] We have jurisdiction to entertain this appeal pursuant to 48 U.S.C.A. § 1424-1(a)(2) (Westlaw current through Pub. L. 113-31 (2013)); 7 GCA §§ 3107 and 3108(a) (2005); and 8 GCA § 130.15(a) (2005).

[20] The trial court's decision to admit evidence is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. People v. Jesus, 2009 Guam 2 ¶ 18 (citing Gen. Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136

Supreme Court of Guam

People of Guam v Castro [2013] GUSC 20; 2013 Guam 20 (25 October 2013)